MILFORD — Developers of a proposed casino off Route 16 and Interstate 495 plan to mitigate additional traffic in town, but according to a study released recently by the MetroWest Anti-Casino Coalition, Foxwoods' proposal would worsen traffic and road conditions throughout the surrounding region.

"The fact is, the studies done by Foxwoods and the town of Milford have been rushed and not well thought through," Brian Herr, a Hopkinton selectman and chairman of the MetroWest Anti-Casino Coalition, said in a news release. "The region is headed for significant gridlock and local roads will become overburdened throughout the entire I-495 corridor. The casino will undoubtedly make Interstate 495 look like Route 128."

Foxwoods' engineers at Tetra Tech have projected the proposed 980,000-square foot resort casino would generate more than 20,000 additional daily vehicle trips Monday through Thursdays, with upwards of 30,000 new trips per day on weekends.

More than 90 percent of casino traffic would come from I-495.

Engineers from Tighe & Bond, acting on behalf of the town, reviewed Tetra Tech's assessment of traffic impacts this summer and found it was done properly.

The host community agreement signed with town officials in September calls for Foxwoods to build a new highway collector-distributor road and interchange from I-495 to Route 16, improve signal synchronization and turn-lane capacity at seven local intersections and install a traffic monitoring program.

According to the new RSG study, the traffic impact study done for Foxwoods didn't address the ripple effect of congestion through nearby areas.

"I think the bottom line was Tetra Tech was focused on Milford," Mr. Herr said in a phone interview. "495 goes 50 miles in either direction. There are sites that will be impacted greatly."

The Massachusetts Turnpike and I-495 interchange area, already a traffic hot spot, would be expected to deteriorate further, according to the RSG study.

The consultants found, among affected sites:

▪ I-495 south of the Mass. Pike would exceed capacity and operate with failing conditions during the weekend evening peak hour;

▪ The casino would add 7,000 to 8,000 vehicles per day to the Mass. Pike west of Route 128, and 530 vehicles during the already failing Friday evening peak hour;

▪ The already over-capacity merge area from the Mass. Pike would worsen and likely result in long queues on the Pike approaching I-495;

▪ I-495 southbound south of the collector-distributor road at Route 109 would be expected to be considered failing because of volume on a recurring basis.

The RSG study also projected that the proposed collector-distributor road and roundabout to Route 16 and the casino would not increase capacity on I-495. It would instead essentially serve as a "very expensive driveway extension," according to the report.

The RSG study also predicted that as conditions on the highways worsened, drivers would flock to local roads such as Route 85, Route 135, Route 16 and Route 109.

The authors concluded that the proposed casino alone would add more weekday evening peak-hour traffic to southbound I-495 south of the Mass. Pike than projected from all other development in the area through 2035 and would very likely trigger the need for more roadway improvements.

Sean P. Reardon, an engineer with Tetra Tech, said in an email that RSG's conclusions regarding the collector-distributor road were wrong and that the proposed improvements would allow drivers on I-495 to travel without the on- or off-ramp friction that exists today.

He added that the report oversimplified the casino's impact on existing peak travel times.

"Simply put, our patrons are aware of the current periods of congested traffic and slow travel times and have the ability to adjust arrival times to avoid those periods," he said.

Mr. Reardon said he was not aware of other work done by RSG in Massachusetts or of its qualifications regarding casino projects.

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG

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